BLOA Principles

Means that there are psysiological origins of behvaiours such as neurotransmitters and hormones. These are based on reductionism which is the attempt to explain complex behaviour in terms of simple causes

Demonstrated in the experiment by Newcomer et al. (1999)

Investigated the role of the stress hormone cortisol on verbal declarative memory.

Group 1 had a high dose of cortisol for 4 days. Group 2 had a low dose of cortisol for 4 days and group 3 took placebo tablets for 4 days. They listened to a prose paragraph and had to recall it. Verbal declarative memory tests are negatively effected by increased cortisol. Because of this group 1 showed the worst performaance compared to group 2 + 3, proving that increase in cortisol has a negative effect on memory.

Animal research can provide insight into human behaviour

Means: researchers can use animals to study physiologicalprocesses as presumed that biological processes are the same in non-humans as humans.

Demonstrated by Rosenzweig and Bennet (1972)

G1 --> enriched environment, lots of toys. G2 --> deprived environment, no toys. The rats spent 30-60 days in environmentbefore being killed. G1 showed a thicker layer of neurons in the cortex compared to G2. Brain grows more neurons if stimulated.

The role of environmental factors on brain plasticity using rats

Human behavior to some extent is genetically inherited

Behaviour can be explained by genetic inheritance. Researchers use twins to compare.

Demonstrated by Bouchard et al. (1990) Minnesota Twin study

Investigating the role of Genes in IQ

Participants were MZ reared apart and MZ reared together. MZ together had a concordance rate IQ of 86% compared to MZ apart with a concordance rate of 76%. Shows a link between genetic inheritance and intelligence but does not rule out the role of the environment.

Means that there are psysiological origins of behvaiours such as neurotransmitters and hormones. These are based on reductionism which is the attempt to explain complex behaviour in terms of simple causes